Ontario's Government for the People Adds More Than 200 Hospital Beds in the Greater Toronto Area

News Release

Ontario's Government for the People Adds More Than 200 Hospital Beds in the Greater Toronto Area

TORONTO — Ontario's Government for the People is taking another step toward ending hallway health care by increasing hospital capacity in the Greater Toronto Area to provide patients and families with better and faster access to the health care they need.

The Church Reactivation Care Centre celebrated the grand opening and admitted patients on Sunday, December 16. This new centre will provide care in a more appropriate setting to less acute patients and ease hospital capacity challenges in the region.

"Our government promised to put an end to hallway health care," said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. "By repurposing and renovating the Humber River Hospital Church site, 92 new beds are available right now in the Greater Toronto Area, with more beds to come, to help reduce wait times."

The new beds provide therapy and rehabilitation care for patients from nearby Humber River Hospital and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Patients who require less intensive care will have staff specifically trained to support them back into the more normal routines of daily living. Next spring after final renovations, up to 120 additional beds will be added.

"This type of space will help us deliver the best care patients need with specialized programs to help patients transition out of hospital into an appropriate care facility - or back home," said Elliott. "This is an early step to address hospital capacity issues, while our government develops a long-term transformational strategy to end hallway health care."

Quick Facts

Upgrades to the existing Church site include renovations to approximately 142,000 square feet of available space.

Ontario is investing an additional $90 million in 2018-19 to build 1,100 beds and spaces in hospitals and the community, including more than 640 new beds and spaces.

Ontario is investing more than $300 million to support the addition of 6,000 new long-term care beds — the first wave of more than 15,000 new long-term care beds over the next five years.